Contrary to ESPN, and most other major media outlets, there were other football games played last week besides the Colts and Patriots. Other NFL teams were in action, and no the Super Bowl was not played last week. After about two weeks of buildup, I woke up Sunday morning looking forward to watching my team, the Detroit Lions. As I was watching Sunday NFL Countdown, I became so frustrated that I had to change channels. There were countless segments about a certain "big" game, and about one minute of coverage for every other game. Don't get me wrong, I understand the significance of two undefeated teams facing each other so late in the season. There were some important implications, and the game turned out to be pretty entertaining. I just thought that some of the other NFL stories of the past week deserved more than a thirty second spot of attention. So I wanted to shed some more light on a great weekend of football action.
Many teams continued great years by improving their records and proving doubters wrong. The Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, and Cleveland Browns all added another win this week, and continued to shock fans. The Packers improved to 7-1 after finishing 8-8 last year, and Brett Favre beat his 31st NFL team. The Lions destroyed the Denver Broncos and improved to 6-2 for the first time since 1999. This comes after a disappointing 3-13 season last year. Finally, the Cleveland Browns improved to 5-3 after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in overtime. All three teams have made vast improvements from last year, yet they did not get very much attention for their accomplishments. There were two NFL records broken this week. First, San Diego Chargers defensive back Antonio Cromartie broke the record for the longest play in NFL history. He ran back a missed
field goal by Minnesota's Ryan Longwell for a 109 yard touchdown. Cromartie broke the record of 108 yards that was shared by Devin Hester, Nathan Vasher, and Ellis Hobbs. There were also two other plays of 100 yards on Sunday. Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Glenn Holt of the Cincinnati Bengals each ran a kickoff back for 100 yards. It was truly a day of big plays. The other record broken this week was the record for most rushing yards in one game. Rookie running back Adrian Peterson ran for 3 touchdowns and 296 yards, breaking Jamaal Lewis' record of 295 yards. These are just a few examples of other news around the NFL. This was a great day in NFL history, unfortunately it was not very well covered. Sure, we got some highlights, but the bulk of the coverage was on the big game. It just would have been nice to see some of these stories covered more thoroughly. Thanks ESPN.
field goal by Minnesota's Ryan Longwell for a 109 yard touchdown. Cromartie broke the record of 108 yards that was shared by Devin Hester, Nathan Vasher, and Ellis Hobbs. There were also two other plays of 100 yards on Sunday. Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Glenn Holt of the Cincinnati Bengals each ran a kickoff back for 100 yards. It was truly a day of big plays. The other record broken this week was the record for most rushing yards in one game. Rookie running back Adrian Peterson ran for 3 touchdowns and 296 yards, breaking Jamaal Lewis' record of 295 yards. These are just a few examples of other news around the NFL. This was a great day in NFL history, unfortunately it was not very well covered. Sure, we got some highlights, but the bulk of the coverage was on the big game. It just would have been nice to see some of these stories covered more thoroughly. Thanks ESPN. 